Turkey, Iraq trade blame as concern rises over low water
Iraq points to Turkey's Ilisu Dam as the cause of its water crisis, but Ankara says Baghdad needs to manage its resources more efficiently.
The world is seeing images of people walking across the much-diminished Tigris River in Iraq. Dead fish abound. Some disaster scenarios even predict the Euphrates and Tigris rivers could dry up by 2040 if effective water-management measures are not taken.
It's no wonder the decades-old water dispute between Iraq and Turkey has erupted anew.
Turkey completed construction of the Ilisu Dam on the Tigris earlier this year and began filling a reservoir behind the damn in early June, but because of increasing objections, the countries have since agreed that Turkey will allow the river's natural flow to continue until Nov. 1. Delegations from Ankara and Baghdad are to meet Nov. 2 for further discussions.
Related developments were reported in detail by Mustafa Saadoun in Al-Monitor on June 13.
